Kedren Johnson hit all four of his free throws in the final 19.8 seconds, and the 10th-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores upset No. 7 seed Arkansas Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn., in their first chance at defending their Southeastern Conference tournament championship. The Commodores (15-16) lost the top six players off that title team with three now playing in the NBA. They will play No. 2 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals Friday night in a rematch of last year’s championship game. Arkansas (19-13) lost for the 12th time in 13 games away from Fayetteville, including three times on neutral courts. Not even the fans calling the hogs helped it feel enough like home as the Razorbacks last led at 7-4.

TENNESSEE 69

MISSISSIPPI STATE 53

Jordan McRae scored 17 points as fifth-seeded Tennessee defeated No. 13 seed Mississippi State in the second round of the SEC tournament. Tennessee (20-11) won for the ninth time in its last 10 games to advance to a Friday quarterfinal against No. 4 seed Alabama (20-11) in a matchup of NCAA tournament bubble teams. Tennessee and Alabama split their regular-season matchups.